Archeologists love history, right?
by Katyla
Summary: Our favourite tomb-raider (accidentally) goes back in time and meets up with our favourite archeologist (Indiana Jones). Now Lara needs to find her way back, and keep those pesky Nazi's off her back. Tut-tut. R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

**Archeologists Love History. Right?**

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**Summary: Our favorite tomb-raider (accidentally) travels back in time and (accidentally) meets up with our favorite archeologist, ****Indiana**** Jones. Now it is a race against time to keep a radical 21st century New-Nazi party from using ancient time-traveling arches to bring Hitler into the modern-day time and allow the Third Reich to reign once more. While Lara is bush-whacking around the 1930's with Indie, her second cousin twice removed, Rebecca Hayes, has to keep Nazi fanatic Wolfgang Sputznicks from finding the arch through which Lara (accidentally) traveled. Add one über-snake, and you've got chaos. Right? Enjoy!**

**A/N to dates and other important things: Ok, firstly, Lara's little adventure takes place _before the first Tomb Raider game. This way I don't have to worry about details from the games (since I've only played the first one) or from the movies (since some details in the movies and games contradict). As to _****Indiana**** Jones, I was very small when I saw the movies and about 13 when I last played the game '**Indiana****** Jones and the Fate of Atlantis', so bear with me if there are any mistakes.**

**Further, when Lara is with Indie, I will be using the 1930's names for countries as much as possible to help keep the authentic feel. So, if you see a place you've never heard of, check at the bottom of the page for the 'new' name. **

**I have also tried to use as many places with actual archeological sites as possible, and I will also give a small description/location of the place at the bottom of the page. **

**Then, lastly, this is my first Lara Croft fan-fiction, so please don't be too harsh on me. But, please, please, please read and review! I promise to update very quickly (since I have 7 weeks holiday coming up) and reviews make me type faster!**

**Disclaimer:** **I do not own Lara Croft, ****Indiana**** Jones, ****Barnett College****, ****Britain****, ****America****, ****South Africa****, ****Russia**** or any other countries/characters/archeological sites that belong either to movie companies, game-manufacturers or themselves. I do, however, own Rebecca Hayes, Wolfgang Sputznicks and madam über-snake (don't ask) and all other characters you don't recognize. The plot is mine also, so leave it alone.**

**Oh, and I do NOT own Hitler! Got that?   **

**Thanks: Lastly I'd just like to thank a few people for their help. Firstly, my archeologist of a father who first got me into Indiana, Lara and all things history, who has also volunteered to help me with any technical details in this story. And then secondly to all my German-speaking friends who have been so kind as to help me with a few German words.**

**Ok, now all that's done, let's get down to the story! Please read and review.**

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**1995**

"Are you sure this was such a good idea, Lara?" Becca Hayes called to her second cousin twice-removed, Lady Lara Croft, as she wormed her way through a long, narrow tunnel. "This looks like the road to something's lair, and I don't think we want to know what it is."

"Of course it is a good idea. I wouldn't have come in here if it wasn't, would I now?" Lara's accented voice drifted back to Becca around the bend of a tunnel. "Besides, the creature can't be very big, now can it?"

She did have a point. The tunnel was only about four feet high and five feet broad, but that didn't make it any less spooky.

Becca sighed and continued to push her backpack ahead of her, crawling on her hands and knees across the smooth lime-stone floor. Her knees were starting to hurt and her palms we stinging, but Lara insisted that it would be further to turn back than to continue. She was going to sound like a child when she said it but: "How long till we're there?"

Her only response was the sound of Lara's booted feet hitting a stone floor, and moments later, Becca almost fell out of the tunnel face first as the floor suddenly gave way under her hands and opened into a huge, circular room. Catching herself just in time, Becca managed to sliver out of the tunnel and land awkwardly on her feet, missing her camera-filled backpack by inches.

The cave appeared to be naturally cut in the  lime-stone mountain, perhaps having been eroded away over the ages by the slow trickle of water that even now slicked the walls. The cave's roof was lost in shadows hundreds of feet above their heads, and even when Becca switched on her powerful torch and pointed it upwards she couldn't see through to the top.

Lara was already making her way over to the far side of the cave, and strangely, something crunched under her boots with every step she took. Interested, Becca pointed her flash-light downwards.

"My God." She murmured as she saw the bones littering the floor of the cave. There wasn't an inch where the natural floor showed through. "What do you think killed all these…" she was about to say "animals" when her torch lighted on a cracked human skull. "Sweet Isis."

"I'd say whatever lay those eggs did." Lara flashed her own beam of light to the right, where hundreds of white eggs were neatly placed in a rough circle. Becca squashed her natural curiosity and moved after Lara, unwilling to think of what inhibited those eggs. They were each roughly the size of a large cooler box, although she had the idea it didn't contain beer. 

"Ah ha!" Lara exclaimed as she reached the wall she had been moving towards. Set in it was an exquisitely carved doorway of stone. "Take a picture of this, won't you?"

Nodding, Becca pulled out her digital camera and snapped a few pictures of the door before moving closer.

"Can you read it?" Lara traced her finger over a set of ruins carved on the door. Becca nodded and moved closer, taking another picture as she went.

"Those who seek the…" Becca frowned. "Either magic or knowledge, it's hard to tell. Anyway, those who seek the knowledge of the past beware, the veil is thin and the future cannot withstand the past…" 

She moved her flashlight down a bit farther. "All that was can change what will be, nothing can bar the call of the ancient." Becca tilted her head to the right, trying to make out the last few ruins. "That's all I can read, the others are too damaged by the wet… perhaps if we send a picture of it to Bryce, he could recreate it for us on the computer."

Lara nodded. "How do we open it?" Her eyes were lively with a glint that Becca knew spelt nothing but trouble. The prize was near, they both knew it.

"Hmmm, I don't know… wait!" Becca's hand came into contact with a slight cylindrical depression. "Hand me the smallest seal!"

Raising an eyebrow, Lara took the small, cylindrical seal out of her backpack, handing it to Becca. "What have you found?"

With a small smile, Becca rolled the seal around in her hand, looking at the exquisitely carved figures on the side. "It just hit me, suddenly." She explained. "These figures are the Gate Guardians." Becca held the seal under her flashlight. "You see those things they hold in their hands?"

Lara nodded and peered down at the figures in their comical feather caps.

"Those are the seals that open the doors!" Grinning in triumph, Becca continued. "You see, when we found this one in the tomb in the Beycesultan* site it was placed next to the carving of the door to the after-life. The Gate Guardians not only open the door to the next life, but also to the past and the future."     

"Very impressive. Now, put it in." Lara made a small motion with her hand, giving away her impatience. As much as Lara loved history and archeology, she loved the thrill of a finding even more.

Softly placing the seal into the depression, they were rewarded with a soft click before the door slowly started to move inwards. Half-way it got stuck, but there was just enough space for them to squash through if they took of their backpacks. With a grin, Lara took her .9mm out of their holsters and Becca readied her Magnum. She preferred her shotgun, which was strapped to her back, but it took too long to reload. It had taken her some time to get used to the lighter, "faster" Magnum, but Lara had insisted. At least Becca had always been a good shot.

The smaller room they found themselves in was about twenty feet in diameter and appeared to be man-made. 

"Bingo." Lara said as she directed her beam to the east wall. Carved into the wall with seamless perfection was an arch roughly man-height. Made of a strange white-and-gold coloured stone, it was a perfect creation of stone masonry. Solid rock showed through in the middle of the arch, highlighted only by a cylindrical depression in the centre and a band of ruins around it.

"Which seal would go in here?" 

"Just a sec, Lara." Becca had her flashlight on the west wall, and she slowly inclined her head to the statue carved into the rock before reverently placing some of her freeze-dried fruit on the rock shelf sticking out from under it.

"It is the Eye Goddess*." Her voice was filled with awe. "I have never seen traces of her anywhere but in Brak, where there was a temple dedicated to her."

The statue was truly magnificent, standing roughly the same height as Becca. In typical Goddess fashion, the body was that of a voluptuous woman with Her hands folded over Her left breast in a sign of life and blessing. No mouth or nose was visible in the face, although the Eyes were done in perfect detail. Two large crystals sat between heavy lids traced in gold, while the eyebrows were two arched streaks of inlaid ebony. 

Seeing Becca lost in the thing she loved the most, Lara cleared her throat. "Sorry to rush you, but I think it's just a tiny problem when you think that those Nazi freaks are not far behind us."

"Sorry." With a last bow, Becca turned away from the statue. "Ok, now let's think. Put the seals down on the ground."

Kneeling beside the seals, the two women tried to puzzle out which one of the keys would fit that particular door. The remaining four seals each weighed the same amount, looked alike and appeared to be mirror copies of each other. Becca sat back on her heals, thinking hard. 

"Any ideas?" She asked after a while, looking at Lara.

Shrugging, the tomb-raider continued to stare at the stones. "I've been wondering, couldn't where we found them give us some clue as to where they go?"

"It is possible, if we take into account that they may have been moved from their original spot. But it might be worth a try." Becca fell quiet again, running over the sites in her mind. "Got it!"

Lara clapped. "Super, which one is it?"

"This one." Becca picked up the seal marked with a small label reading: Paestum*. "We found this one close to the ceremonial tomb of the Goddess Persephone, didn't we? Well, it is the only Goddess that would have a possible link to the Eye Goddess. Persephone's symbol is the pomegranate, which kind of resembles the eye if you think about it."

"Shall we try it?" Lara reached for the seal and snatched it out of Becca's hand before the younger woman could stop her.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Lara. We have no way of controlling it or even know where it will take us. We could be spit out before creation began and there is nothing we could do about it." Becca felt as if she was speaking to the walls. Lara Croft would never let such an opportunity pass. 

"Remember, if anything should happen to me, get out of here as quickly as you can, ok? Don't wait around to see if I'll come back. If I do I'll find my own way out, but I won't have you starving in here waiting for me." Lara was reaching out to place the seal in the depression as she spoke; her attention fixed solely on the object in her hand.

"Lara…" Everything happened so fast. Just as Lara placed the seal in the depression, a rumble could be heard from the mountain and the ground shook. Becca, who was half-way to standing, was thrown right over. A brilliant white light shone from within the arch, and Lara, losing her balance tumbled through head first.    

"Bloody miners!" Becca let fly a string of curses as the shaking stopped and she made her way steadily to her feet. The light from the arch had vanished, and with it Lara and the seal.

"You're dead, Lara Croft. I'll kill you with my bare hands when you get back!" 

***Beycesultan:**** Site in ****West Turkey**** which may have been the capital of the Arzawans (2300-1300 BC). The Gate Guardians are my own creation drawn from various myths.**

***Eye Goddess:**** The only traces of Her that I could find was in Brak, a site in East Syria where there was a temple dedicated to this virtually unknown Goddess. The statue is my own mental image of Her. Could find no dates, but still looking. **

*******Paestum****:**** Greek colony on the West coast of ****Italy****. A totally enclosed tomb which is believe to be a ceremonial tomb to the Goddess Persephone has been found here. Dates to round about 5th century BC.**

**Well folks, that's the first chapter. Is it any good or am I just wasting my time? Let my know by pressing that little button that says: Go!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Ok everyone. This is the second chapter to the story. I hope that Indie isn't too much OOC, because I'm trying to reconstruct him from the memory of the eight-year-old I was when I last watched "Raiders of the Lost Arch." Let me know if there are any changes I can bring about to help Indie's char along. As soon as I am finished with the exams I'll try to get my hands on some of the movies (if I can find them on DVD) and re-watch them all. Anyway, enjoy!**

**1939**

Dr Indiana Jones had never quite been certain whether he liked the Barnett College store-rooms or not. It would be much more of a love-hate relationship, actually. The store-rooms were badly in need of a cleaning, and sometimes Indie thought that there were more lost artifacts to be found in the store-room than there were in all the archeological sites in the world. Perhaps he would send a lucky – or unlucky – group of students up there to go through some things and fix it up a bit.

On the other hand, he had always thought of the store-rooms as more of his own, private collection. After all, most of the artifacts there had been contributed himself. If only he could find that damn amulet! Usually Indie loved spending time in the dusty, cluttered rooms, but having to search for something he needed for the past four hours, he was beginning to entertain thoughts that included gasoline and matches. Or maybe not.

The amulet he was searching for was one he had found in the ruins of the city of Troy, and it was rumored that it used to belong to the prophetess Cassandra. Some sources said that it would give the wearer the power to see into the future; although whether that was true left to be see. Now, if he could only move that darned archway!

The red-and-gold archway had been standing in the Barnett collection for as long as Indie could remember. No-one had been able to tell him how it got there, or who had brought it. It also appeared quite useless, since you could stick your hand through the one side and watch it come out the other. Probably nothing more that a fancy ornament raided from some tomb.

Dr Jones was about to try and move it, when the archway suddenly started vibrating violently under his hands. "Oops."

Jumping back a step, Indie watched as a brilliant red light streamed from the middle of the archway, illuminating the dusty storeroom, and with it, Cassandra's amulet which was stashed away on the highest shelf in the right-handed corner.

Casting a nervous glance at the now-pulsing archway, Indie started towards the amulet, only halting when a lone figure of a woman came flying through the arch. She landed heavily, rolled and was on her feet lightning quick, guns in hand and breathing hard.

Indie reached for his bullwhip… which wasn't at his side. Darnit!

The archeologist slowly raised his hands when she motioned for him to do so, and seeing him unarmed, and pretty much incapable of doing her any harm, she lowered her guns. 

"Where am I?" She glanced about her, a slightly puzzled look on her striking features. 

"Barnett College store-rooms, as a matter of fact." Indie glanced the woman up and down, taking in her slightly disheveled hair and dusty clothes. He was taken slightly aback by her tight top and _very_ short shorts, and his image of her was weakened ever-so-slightly when she burst out laughing.

"Ah yes, and next you are going to tell me that you are the infamous archeologist Dr Indiana Jones, and that this is the 1930's." 

Indie gaped and the woman merely watched him with those large eyes of hers, an expectant expression on her features.

"I am and this is 1939, actually." He scratched his head and glanced from her to the archway behind her. "And you are?"

Now it was Lara's turn to gape. Well, as close as the woman could ever come to it. "Of course," she mused. "Why not Barnett College." She glanced up at Indie. "I am Lara, Lara Croft." She bent down to retrieve the seal which had managed to come through the archway with her before placing it in her backpack. She noticed the archeologist's eyes lingering on it.

Indie was intrigued by her British accent – not to mention her strange method of travel – and her obvious puzzlement at her surroundings. "Could I ask you a question Mrs. Croft?" He watched as she placed the strange artifact into her backpack and made a mental note to ask her about it later.

Lara glanced up with an amused smile. She was slowly but surely gaining her unflappable composure again, and started to enjoy the situation. It had been she, after all, who had wanted to see what would happen if the archway was activated. For a  fleeting moment she worried about Becca, but she knew the woman to be a very capable archeologist and somewhat of an explorer, and she pushed her to the back of her mind.

Of all the places she had imagined to go, Barnett College was not one of them. Back to ancient Greece or Rome or even some civilization before that, yes. Lara had hoped that by using the arch she would have at least found out who had created them – and why. Oh well, if she was to believe Becca's theory, the arches were supposed to transport the user to a place where the traveler either had to find something or learn something to aid in their own, personal growth. Not that Lara had any idea what the 1930's, Dr Indiana Jones and Barnett College could teach her, but hell, might as well give the fates a shot.

"Shoot, Dr Jones. Oh, and it is Miss or Lady, as my butler insists on."

Indie gave a small laugh. "I don't really believe in guns, Miss Croft." He raised an eyebrow. "I take it that you are an aristocrat then?"

Lara nodded her affirmation.

"Hmm, could I ask you what exactly happened or, more precisely, why you are here?"

"That, my dear Dr Jones, is a long story."

"Shall we go to my office where we can talk in relative comfort?"

Lara holstered her guns and nodded, motioning for him to lead the way.

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Indie's office was cluttered, but somehow he managed to get Lara into a chair and a cup of coffee in her hand. She did not seem to like it very much, but since he had run out of tea, it was that or boiled water.

"Would you care to explain now what had happened?" Indie was perched on his desk amid several heaps of paper and quite a few books. 

Not quite sure whether she could trust him completely, Lara decided to tell Dr Jones the somewhat condensed version of events. That which she knew about the man made him out to be quite a legend, but Lara had met enough people in her life to know that stories were not always quite the people they were about.

"It all started when my second cousin twice removed, Rebecca Hayes, came to me with a legend about the Arches of the Gods. She had found a seal in a site in Europe, and within days of telling the curator at a museum about it, she had the radical New-Nazi party hot on her trail." Lara paused for a sip of her coffee, but also to see what Indiana's reaction to that would be. His dislike of Nazi's were well known, and knowing that they were on the eve of World War II, Lara wanted to make sure what type of ground she was treading on before she fell into a pit.

"I hate Nazi's. They always get in the way." Indiana mumbled but motioned for her to continue.

"Well, we set out to find the four other seals spoken of in the legend, after which we started tracking down the arches. Unfortunately, we were unable to leave the New-Nazi's behind." Lara nearly growled at the thought. She hated being followed almost as much as she hated being stolen from. "The only arch we could find was one in South Africa, almost right on the Zimbabwe border. We managed to get in, find the arch and just as I was activating it, there was an earthquake caused by the mining industry close by. That is why I ended up here."

Indie scratched his head as he tried to get his mind around it. "Zimbabwe?" He frowned. "Never heard of it. So you mean to say that the arches allow one to travel not just from one place to another, but also to different times? Why on earth would the Nazi's want it?"

"Oh, yes, Zimbabwe would be called Rhodesia, I think, in the 30's." Lara frowned. "As far as I have been able to gather, the New-Nazi's want to use the arches to bring Hitler through to our century, which would cause a new surge of life for the Nazi party."

"But why did you come to Barnett College?"

"I didn't choose to. Becca has a theory that the arches transport one to a place where you need to learn – or teach – something that will help in your personal growth. Almost a controlled-by-the-fates thing." Shrugging, Lara forced some of the coffee down her throat. "But it is just a theory."

Generally, Lara liked coffee, but there was something strange to that particular cup of coffee. She shot a side-ways glance at the jar standing on the table. If she was correct, the coffee was several years over its expiry date. Ah well, it was coffee.

"So, what are you going to do now Lady Croft?" Indie crossed his arms and leaned on his desk a bit more.

Lara shrugged. "Enjoy the ride?"

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Becca was in big trouble. On second thought, that was the understatement of the century. After Lara had fallen through the ancient archway into who-knows when, Becca had stuck around for a while before deciding to do as Lara had said and get out of the place.

The threat of the New-Nazi's hung heavily on her mind, and as far as she knew, Lara could take care of herself just fine.

So, after taking a few more photos, and gathering all her and Lara's gear, Becca had set off back through the tunnel on her hands and knees and back down the long passage way to the outside. 

She was round about two hours walk from the surface when she heard an odd… _slithering _sound from behind her. Following her gut instinct, Becca managed to worm her way into a fissure about half-way up the wall, deciding to rather be safe than sorry.

The sight that greeted her made her hair stand on end. The shuffling, slithering sound turned out to be generated but a huge, bottle-green snake making its rather rapid pace down the hall. About four feet high and three feet thick, it was bigger than Becca had ever thought a snake could be. 

It had stopped for a few seconds beneath her hiding place, poised as if it smelled something – probably, Becca mused, it smelled her – but thankfully, it wasn't too bright, so it moved on, slithering down the right-hand passage. 

Tense minutes passed as Becca waited to see if the twelve-foot long beast would return – that was not something she wished to face on her own, even with all the magnums and shot-guns in the world. Luck, or fate, seemed to be on her side, and she made good, undisturbed time to the surface.

Good time, that is, until she walked smack bang into a mountain of flesh.

"We've got someone." A gruff voice said in very bad German, as Becca was seized and dragged out of the four foot hole that was the entrance to the underground structures.

And there, in full military splendor, stood twenty heavily armed, New-Nazi members.

Shit.  

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**Ok, second chapter done. Sorry if it was a bit short, but these horrid exams don't do much for my time. Let me know if this little story is worth continuing with!**

**And how does one do that? Well, you review!**  


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